Full Text:

Share this article

Abstract

The Apostolic tradition in the Church’s understanding of Scripture and faith from Reformation to the start of the 21st century – A brief hermeneutical overview. This study is a concise hermeneutical overview of faith’s various ways of understanding and of the different approaches towards scripture interpretation in the history of the Church, from the Reformation to the start of the 21st century. In conclusion, the research manifests that historically the Apostolic Tradition of the Early Church, with its ecumenically accepted expression of faith in the Nicene Confession (originating from the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea 325 and Constantinople 381), provides us with a vital hermeneutical key for the interpretation of the scripture and the faith of the Church and, in conjunction with this, offers a foundation towards Church unity for our time and all centuries. The study expressly takes into account that the current ecumenical debate on the unity of the Church predominantly supports the view that the Nicene-Constantinopolitan creedal statement undoubtedly renders the best basis for seeking the unity of faith communities of all ages and across the world.